cigars vs cigarettes

[hotreds]

Cigarettes are the perverse opposite of cigars:
Cigars are long, cigarettes are short;
Cigars are dark, cigarettes are white;
Cigars are thick, cigarettes are slim;
Cigars smell strongly, cigarettes are perfumed;
Cigarettes are for the lips while
Cigars are for both mouth and teeth;
Cigarettes never go out but burn up quickly,
While cigars seem to last forever;
Cigars are big brutes, cigarettes are as feminine as jewels.
Cigarettes are for chain-smoking,
Cigars must be smoked one at a time,
Peaceably, with all the leisure in the world.
Cigarettes are of the instant,
Cigars are for eternity.
- Guillermo Cabrera Infante